


Truth or Dare

by Zoe Rayne (MontanaHarper)



Category: due South
Genre: Early Work, M/M, Round Robin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 1997-03-01
Updated: 1997-03-01
Packaged: 2017-10-11 20:57:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,062
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/117040
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MontanaHarper/pseuds/Zoe%20Rayne
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ray and Benny on stakeout, with nothing better to do than play Truth or Dare.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Truth or Dare

**Author's Note:**

> **Original A/N:** The first part of a round robin. I have no idea what happened to the rest of it.
> 
>  **AO3 A/N:** This is an example of my very early fanfic. For historical purposes I'm leaving it as it was originally posted, including the summary. Even if a lot of it makes me cringe now.

It was getting chilly inside the Riviera. Ray shivered and pulled his leather jacket tighter around his body. His thin slacks were no match for the frigid air around him. It was almost as bad as being trapped in the meat locker with Fraser and thousands of pounds of horse meat.

"Here, Ray," Benny said, holding out a thermos of steaming coffee. "You look like you could use something warm to drink."

The two men had been on the stakeout for almost six hours now, without any indication that their prey was going to cooperate and lead them to his source. Benny was perfectly comfortable, even though he could see his breath when he exhaled. Ray, on the other hand, just wasn't used to the sub-zero temperatures.

"I don't know how you do it," Ray said, his hands cupped around the steaming mug. "I'm freezing to death here, and you, you look like you're having a day at the beach. What, do you Canadians sit around in your underwear in a snow bank to build up your resistance to cold?"

"Of course not, Ray. It's all a matter of what you're used to. Up in the Territories, I was used to living in a cabin heated only by a wood stove. It's much warmer at this latitude. You, on the other hand, are soft. You've never had to survive in the cold and the wilderness."

"Hey, I resent that. I just grew up in a different wilderness than you did. The streets of Chicago are just as cold and hard as the wastes of the Territories," Ray said defensively. He reached for the thermos and poured more of the steaming liquid into his cup.

"I never said they weren't," Benny said, reaching out to reclaim the hot coffee. "If you're still cold I have another idea for keeping warm. Something we used to do when I was growing up. It's called Truth or Dare. The idea is..."

"I know how to play Truth or Dare," Ray said in an irritated tone. "No one plays Truth or Dare after they're nine years old."

"Like even-Steven?"

"Yeah, it is."

"Oh."

There was silence in the car as Ray sipped at the rapidly cooling coffee. Finally he said, "Truth or dare?"

"Truth."

"Do you miss the Territories?"

"Sometimes. Especially at night. When it's nighttime up north you can see the stars so clearly..."

Benny looked profoundly sad and Ray regretted his choice of question. He knew that Benny wasn't necessarily happy in Chicago, that the Mountie would rather have been back home.

"Truth or dare?" Benny asked after a moment.

"Truth," Ray said, wondering why they were even bothering to offer the option of a dare. It wasn't in Benny's nature to refuse to tell the truth and Ray was just too damned cold to perform some stunt.

"Are you sorry you met me?"

"Are you nuts, Benny?" Ray said, a look of disbelief on his face.

"Well, you do seem to get in an awful lot of trouble when you help me out, Ray."

"I guess so," Ray admitted. "But it's worth it. Truth or dare?"

"Truth."

Ray asked the question that had been on his mind ever since Benny got out of the hospital. "Was Victoria the first woman you ever had sex with?"

"Ray!" Benny looked scandalized.

"Just answer the question, Benny."

"Yes."

"So, you were a virgin when I met you." Ray exhaled, watching his breath rise in steamy swirls in front of his face. It had been a pretty safe bet, he thought. Benny was such a Boy Scout that it was hard to imagine him having sex outside of marriage.

"I didn't say that, Ray."

"What? You and she actually made it in a blizzard on the side of the mountain?" Ray stared at his friend incredulously. "And I thought _I_ was adventurous!"

"No, we didn't. I think she wanted to, and I know I did, but nothing unchaste happened between us until she showed up in Chicago." Fraser studied his mug intently.

"Then..."

"It's my turn, Ray. Truth or dare?" Those piercing blue eyes focused on Ray's face.

"But you haven't answered my question..."

"You asked if Victoria was the first woman I had sex with. I answered that. Now it's your turn to answer. Truth or dare, Ray?"

"Truth." Ray squirmed in his seat, suddenly feeling much warmer. The temperature in the car was still the same, but Ray's internal thermostat was suddenly off.

"Would you have traded places with Louis?" Benny's expression was serious, his gaze never leaving his partner's green eyes.

"Jesus, Benny. What kind of question is that?" Ray was still struggling with the implications of Benny's last answer. He hadn't really thought about his friend's death lately, and Fraser's question made him feel slightly guilty.

"It's a perfectly reasonable question, Ray."

"Yeah, I suppose I would've, at the time. I was so angry at Zuko for taking a shot at me and Huey was so upset over Louis's death that I could've done almost anything then. I was pretty much out of my mind. Zuko does that to me."

"I'm glad you didn't," Benny said simply.

"Truth or dare."

"I don't think we need to continue with this, Ray." Benny was looking out the side window.

"Oh, no, you're not getting out of this that easily," Ray said, reaching out to turn Benny's face towards him. "Truth or dare."

"Dare."

"Dare?" Ray asked incredulously.

"The question was truth _or_ dare, wasn't it, Ray?"

"Okay." Ray thought for a moment. What he really wanted was an answer to the question that was now foremost in his mind. If Benny wouldn't answer him outright, he'd have to find another way to find that. "Kiss me."

"What?" Benny's eyes opened wide.

"You picked dare. I'm daring you." Ray crossed his arms across his chest and gave Benny a look that defied him to refuse.

Slowly Benny's hand moved to caress Ray's cheek. He moved deliberately forward until his face was centimeters from Ray's. "Are you sure, Ray?" he asked, his voice soft and low.

Truthfully, Ray wasn't at all sure. But he couldn't go back now, not after he'd pushed it this far. "Yeah. Like Julie Brown says, 'Shut up and kiss me.'"

Ray closed his eyes and felt Benny's soft lips press against his mouth.


End file.
